Yoke foam padding

ABSTRACT

A foam padding having a foam pad and a sheet material cover, both being shaped such that the pad extends along the flat side of the central section of a wooden yoke and the cover holds it in place.

[0001] This invention relates to a foam padding which can be attached to a wooden yoke which is used for carrying a canoe from one location to another. By utilizing the foam padding, the strain of carrying the canoe will be eased as the pressure from the yoke will be spread more evenly across the shoulders of the person carrying the canoe.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] When canoeing, and especially when canoeing along a stream, it is frequently required that the canoe be lifted out of the water to another location farther up or downstream to avoid shallow or treacherous water conditions. A wooden yoke is used so that the canoe can be carried in an inverted position and, if the portage is long or over rough ground, the person carrying the canoe will usually suffer from sore shoulders.

[0003] Accordingly, it would be advantageous to avoid such soreness of the shoulders if at all possible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] It is an object of this invention to provide a foam pad which is shaped to cover the central section of a flat side of a wooden yoke which will rest upon a person's shoulders when carrying a canoe, and part of an edge of the wooden yoke which will rest against the back of the neck of the person carrying the canoe.

[0005] A further object of the invention is to provide a foam padding which will cover only a central section of the flat side of a wooden yoke which rests upon a person's shoulders when in use.

[0006] In both of these instances the foam pad can be held in place upon the wooden yoke by a shaped piece of a sheet material such as textured reinforced vinyl sheet known by the trademark NAGERHYDE. After wrapping it around the wooden yoke, the sheet can be secured by a separable fastener such as that known by the trademark VELCRO.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings.

[0008]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the foam padding shown attached to a wooden yoke; and

[0009]FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view on 2-2 of FIG. 1.

[0010] Referring specifically to the figures, the foam padding 1 consists of a roughly rectangular cross-section piece of low density closed cell plastic foam shaped to cover the central section of one side 3 and, one edge 5 of a wooden yoke 7.

[0011] In the specific embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the foam padding is held in place by a covering of textured sheet vinyl 9, preferably a reinforced vinyl such as that known by the trademark NAGERHYDE. The sheet vinyl 9 can be secured to the foam padding by an adhesive or it can merely be left untouched so that the foam padding and the vinyl sheet are separable. The vinyl sheet preferably overlaps along the rounded edge 11 of the yoke with the overlap portions being secured to each other by a fastener such as that known by the trademark VELCRO.

[0012] In a second embodiment of the invention (not shown) the foam padding 1 can be of narrower width so that it is the same width as the wooden yoke so that it only covers one side 3 of the central portion of the wooden yoke. This second embodiment will of course be less expensive than the first embodiment as less material will be used. 

I claim:
 1. A foam padding for use with a wooden yoke consisting of a piece of substantially rectangular cross-section closed cell plastic foam shaped to cover the central section of a flat side of the yoke which rests upon the shoulders of a person during use, and a shaped textured reinforced sheet of vinyl which wraps around the yoke and the foam pad and holds two parts together by being secured along its length by a separable fastener.
 2. The foam padding of claim 1 wherein the foam pad is wider than the central section of the wooden yoke and extends across one edge of the wooden yoke which rests upon the back of a person's neck when the yoke is in use.
 3. The foam padding as in claims 1 or 2 wherein the sheet material is specific that known by the trademark NAGERHYDE.
 4. The foam padding as in claims 1 or 2 wherein the separable fastener is that known by the trademark VELCRO. 